Best non-Leica f1.1 lens for Leica M cameras?

[wolan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi 

I wanted to buy a non-Leica f1.1 lens and I have seen there are a few of the them on the market. Recently Astrolab came up with a new lens.

Which one is the best in your opinion?

I like the 7artisans, it has a very nice bokeh.

Which one would you choose according to the following criteria?

• Bokeh WO
• Sharpness WO
• Sharpness stopped down

Thanks.

 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[3D-Kraft.com]

Propably the best option is the Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.0 ASPH (we have a dedicated thread here).

Another option may be the Mr. Ding Optics 50 mm f/1.1 Noxlux M, here you should look for the Mark II version.

Comparison: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/comparison-super-fast-50mm-m-mount-lenses/

[spydrxx]

Can't comment on the f1.1 options, as I've only had the Canon50/0.95 dream lens, the Noctilux 50/1.0, and the Canon 50/1.2 (LTM). In general I found them all to be outlandishly big, comparatively heavy, and on an M body, difficult to achieve accurate focus wide open due to the extremely narrow dof. Wide open they all achieved a dreamy character, reasonably good color rendition, and ok bokeh. I'd definitely tag them as special use lenses.  Stopped down around 2 stops sharpness, contrast, and color rendition markedly improves. If cost is an issue, the Canon 50/1.2 seems pretty widely available at a cost of around $350-450 US with a tad extra for an LTM->M adapter. If you've never used such a fast lens like these (or the f/1.1s you're looking at), you might want to experiment a little and see if a big bright new ultra fast is really worth the money and will get any use, you might experiment with the inexpensive Canon 50/1.2 to give you a taste of what to expect. Worth checking out also is the MFD od any of the lenses you are considering, as well as the focus throw...generally you can expect a longer focus throw on these than you might be used to. Hopefully my comments will give you food for thought. As an aside I eventually sold the first two aforementioned lenses and kept the 3rd as it seemed like having the cash invested in such an infreqently used lens was wasteful for me. I wish you good luck in your venture into this category of lenses, though.

[pippy]

I loved the rendering of the 7Artisan 50 f1.1 when I saw how it performed wide open and, having bought one (in Black-Chrome finish) thinking it was going to be just a One Trick Pony, was very surprised by how very well it performs as an everyday 50mm. Sharpness at smaller apertures? When tested back-to-back with my v4 Summicron there was almost nothing between the performance of the 7A and the Leitz lens from f4.0 down.

So much did I like the lens, in fact, that I bought a second example in Silver-Chrome finish.

As I'm sure you already know each lens comes with a small screwdriver which can be used to finesse the focus and both of mine needed a bit of tweaking. Some, though, seem to work perfectly well straight out of the box. My two were both early lenses so it might be that later lenses come better-adjusted from new.

I don't shoot wide-open very often but if you would like to see some pics snapped at f1.1 / f1.4 and stopped-down just let me know and I will look some out.

Philip.

[costa43]

I have a Mr Ding 50mm f1.1. It’s really quite sharp wide open. Not the best flare resistance when pointed at the sun. A couple of examples at f1.1 below

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited yesterday at 06:22 AM by costa43

[costa43]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[3D-Kraft.com]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

From the "Mr. Ding" Noxlux 50/1.1, I like that it has only very little field curvature and I also like the bokeh. But from what I saw so far it has very low contrast wide open (but yo may be able to get back a certain amount through post processing).

The 7artisans 50/1.1 seems to have a strong field curvature, low contrast and in many situations a busy bokeh. I do not have it but from what I saw, that would be the option I would least prefer. I have the 7artisans 75/1.25 version, and it's of poor quality – practically unusable when used WO.

Best sharpness WO and a nice bokeh has the Nokton 50/1.0 ASPH and it is pretty compact and lightweight. Other drawbacks include a rather pronounced field curvature and chromatic aberration WO, but overall, I consider this to offer the best value for money.

[DreiPunkte]

What you're looking for is the dilemma every lens designer faces.
A lens that works wide open with fine bokeh is based on a lens design
that counteracts all the factors that make a lens suitable for longer distances and smaller apertures.
Furthermore, the whole thing has to be as small as possible.

So why not use two lenses for different purposes?
A reliable, small workhorse for smaler apertures and fair large depth of field ability
and a big lens for swallow depth of field and the desired bokeh.

BTW consider the distribution of sharpness and contrast with wide-open lenses for your type of work.kind of pictures.
Money will be the game changer in the direction to the corners. For example when you want your main subject not to stay in the middle.

Edited yesterday at 02:05 PM by DreiPunkte

[rcusick]

Not technically 1.1 but what about canon ltm 50mm 1.2?  Small. Cheap.  Great for portraits. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[PCPix]

On 9/27/2025 at 9:36 PM, 3D-Kraft.com said:

best option is the Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.0 ASPH

I’ve owned the Voigt f/1.1  and the 7Artisans f/1.1 and I wouldn’t bother with either. The latter was really not great, never got it to focus across the range, despite user adjustable calibration and it was very poor wide open. The Voigt was much better, but still optically quite poor wide open. From the reviews I have seen, the new Voigt f/1 looks to be a massive improvement. 

[Biotar]

I love my Nokton 1.1 because it has the signature of the great Noctilux 1.0

RF accuracy is critical, which is why I only use it on the SL.